Danny Bell and His Disappointments Release- Lilting and Rollicking New Album Songs For The Town and Animated Video for “Riverbank."

Photo and Artwork by Evan Campbell

By Keir Nicoll

There is a sound of folklorique, meets punk and country, coming out of the interior of British Columbia. It is emerging from the throat and accordion of Danny Bell as he and his drummer, bass and fiddle player, touch on the various threads and hues of Canadiana. The release of Songs For The Town was on December 11, on Good Egg Records, the second on this label, for Danny Bell and His Disappointments.

The songs of the album touch on topics like depression, small-time music industry satire and the Canadian experiences of regional bias (B.C.'s against Prince George) his experience of immigration social-division and the thoughts and aspirations of two dogs. His songwriting is often dark but he never misses a chance to find his way towards humour. Based in B.C., on unceded Lhedi T'enneh territory, his music is regional and yet transcends borders to appeal to the disaffected down-and-out, everywhere. Danny describes the locals and localities he loves and hates, playing behind his very big E. Jambolini Accordion, with his honest eyes.

Of particular note, for this record's release, is an animated video by Northern B.C. Artist Silky Hen. The painstakingly frame-by-frame animated piece for “Riverbank,” in which Bell sings about “boredom and safety,” Down by the riverbank, where you can't drink the water, because it burns. The animation shows flying eyeballs, earth that melts into a Sasquatch, who goes marching through the woods and UFOs dropping rock-like nuggets into the water. There is also a scene with a creature playing the accordion (the same one that is on the album cover), to the solo of Bell, in behind with the music. This is the ninth song on the album.

The songs proceed, from the first, “Old Toyota,” about a messy place for your leaving, in the “Old, rusted, red and green Toyota.” He mixes imagery of this, with “A stray pack of dogs in your sleep/just want to go back to your dreams.” There is plenty of accordion and fiddle in this and all of the rest of the songs on this album. Here, there is chunking – country-meets-folklorique, bumpin' old-time rhythm, as he describes, “sifting through the scrap-pile of the metal junkyard.”

“Shitty Town” is next, with a slow lead-in to a faster beat in the song. Bell sings, “I come from aaaaaa and I live in aaaa Shitty Town, with Shitty Folks.” Cowboys and boxes beside the highway. This is more upbeat and travelling, with rollicking, rollin' and tumblin' drums. He describes “rotting pumpkins.” Being stuck in the town partying, that you came to for school, “like fools.” “They say it's from the pulp mill but it’s from the people who stink,” he intones.

Sparking from the satirical, “Doing Sound” describes sound-tech lingo at shows he puts on at the Legion, for bands from afar to come. For people to party hard, crank up the volume and forget. This song features lilting, off-beat accordion and singing fiddle. “What you call a party I call work/and how hard you party is what I'm worth,” he sings out loud, despite the audience maybe saying the sound-guy sucks. The obligations of the sound-tech are met with a rousing sing-along chorus at the end-point of the song and the sound of breaking class takes out the end.

The next song is brought in with a heavy bass (washtub?), alternating with accordion chord shots. “Red Leaves,” feels more beautifully written, as it describes the red leaves blowin' all around. He says, “Bad seed,” “Death and decay/beautiful day,” with keening vocals recounting all the “dead things.” There is a swelling in the middle part of the song, with the bass, accordion and fiddle, melding in sonorous uprisings, then a big slow-down, at the end.

This next song, “Fall Time,” continues in the three-minute run-time of most of this record's songs and continues to describe the scenes of autumn. Describing the orange of the leaves, that Bell is obviously very impressed by, he says they, “light up the faces in the grass beneath the poplar and the pine.” There is a punchy, lilting accordion again, as the song actually turns into a story of him getting beat-up, that he subtly slides in here, as he sings about, “fall time/destruction time,” again. There are sparser walking drums and accordion and more rotting leaves here.

“Bookers,” continues in the vein of the small-time music satire, as Bell seems very interested in the whole music business he is a part of. He describes booking in cafes and pubs, “a long way from here.” He sings about “the five of of us,” in a dodge caravan deluxe, the cost of gas and the luck for country-western shirts he's had in the next town's thrift store, especially as “bands in uniform get work.” He has the voice of much knowledge about the long-hard roads of musicianship and touring. He even goes so far as to describe the band-name, painted on the sliding-door and the smash and grab of all the gear from the van.

In “Good Canadian,” Bell seems to be describing something that people have always known in this country – the seeking of the commonalities of peoples. However, he goes on to describe being in the hospital and “never supporting terrorist groups”, “participating in the ill-treatment of incarcerated individuals”, or “witnessing or participating in the destruction of a religious temple.” Having never been busted since the age of 18, he seems to have found the good life, with smoking weed, being intoxicated and having a good time with his good Canadian friends. The song ends with him, “looking for a good Canadian wife,” and a dramatic, flourishing outro. More punk vocals.

Hiking and walking the dog song, “The Longest Walk,” has a more folksy instrumental intro. It then goes into describing “a long walk, with no leash between me and my true love's good company.” The hike from Summit Lake, where they'll swim, and the song is replete with sounds of dogs barking and howling in the background, to very funny effect, as Bell contributes doggy, “aroooo”-ing vocals. 

“Riverbank” is next, with its watery reflections and then the last song on the album is the softer, “Safe On The Hart,” where he sings, “Crimes on your mind feel unsafe/you get your safe on the hart,” and, “stink in the air got you low/you can get high on the hill.”

Overall, the album moves from being simply-folksy-lush, spare, in an entirely, kind of minimal and sparse way, with lots of voice and accordion breaks, amidst the soaring instruments of the band’s renditions. There is a sense of going someplace with Danny Bell and His Disappointments, who can only let us up, not down, as he designs the lifestyles of a travelling, Canadian band. For anyone who has lived in this domain, there is a familiarity that resonates through this record-album and introduces anyone who has never been. Bell is a keen songwriter, with the likes of Dan Burn, Veda Hille, and of course, Geoff Berner. If any of these locals and their imaginations appeal to you, then Danny Bell and His Disappointments is another place to get to the upbeat, on Canadian music-circles.

Check out the hypnotizing video below.